When bedridden patients have to maintain a substantially motionless position on a mattress for prolonged periods of time, they develop bed sores, Decubitus Ulcers, on the skin. These sores are formed primarily because the pressure exerted on the skin surfaces under the bony prominences of the patient, which bear most of the weight of the patient when the patient's body presses against the ordinary mattress, obstructs the circulation of the blood in the body capillaries directly under these surfaces.
The present invention is directed toward a new type of portable inexpensive instrument, easily operated, which can be used to measure, quickly and accurately, the pressure exerted by any portion of the body of a bedridden individual lying on a mattress, by that section of the mattress which is engaged by this body portion.